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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: track · face · wind · press · spell · ball · bat · lie

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. wind — moving air
  3. spell — a short time
  4. face — part of the head
  5. bat — the animal
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. track — a song
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. press — to push
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. spell — letters
  14. press — a publisher
  15. press — newspapers
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. wind — moving air
  18. ball — a great time
  19. lie — to recline
  20. track — a path
  21. face — to confront
  22. ball — a dance
  23. face — to point toward
  24. spell — magic

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com